


The Five Times Brendon Tried to Propose (And the One Time it Worked Out)

by cecilkirk



Category: Panic! at the Disco
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, Humor, M/M, Minor Angst, Ryden, canon if you squint, proposal
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-26
Updated: 2016-07-14
Packaged: 2018-06-04 13:41:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6660394
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cecilkirk/pseuds/cecilkirk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>His heart was in the right place. He was just too awkward, was all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [servecobwebheadaches](https://archiveofourown.org/users/servecobwebheadaches/gifts).



"Please stay, Ry."

Ryan kissed his lips, his nose, his cheek. Brendon's skin was warm from the light streaming through the blinds, and Ryan let it soak into his lips, grinning against him.

"I have to go to work," Ryan explains, but he makes no effort to extricate himself from the knotted sheets and Brendon's arms.

Brendon moves himself forward so they share a pillow. Ryan grins at this, and Brendon matches the joy on Ryan's lips with his own. 

"Really, Bren," Ryan says, words dancing across Brendon's lips. "I have to go."

Brendon reaches forward to touch Ryan's face. He takes his time, treating Ryan's skin like porcelain. He always had; Brendon had always revered Ryan, regarded him as something holy and worthy of worship.

It made Ryan feel small, but protected. Cherished. It made him feel loved.

"You've got to have sick days accrued," Brendon says, voice dripping past his lips and onto Ryan's, soft and silken. No one else could hear. It was only for Ryan.

Brendon looks up at him with hopeful eyes, and Ryan can see the logic behind them, too. He wanted Ryan to stay home and fill the morning hours with lazy sex and adoring whispers, and he had a good reason.

Ryan grins at him. "Maybe I do."

Brendon toys with Ryan's hair. "Maybe, maybe."

Ryan laughs, deep and slow and soft. The windows are open, but no one can hear it beside Brendon. It was only for him. It only ever could be.

"Tell you what," Ryan says, inching his hand across Brendon's waist to draw circles on his back. Brendon moved closer so Ryan had easier access and their chests were nearly touching, drawn together by what connected them behind their ribs. "I'll come home early, and we can spend the evening together."

He kisses Brendon softly, and Brendon kisses back, but Ryan can tell his mind is elsewhere. He pulls back and sees worry has made its way across his face, darkening his sun-soaked features like storm clouds.

"You all right?" 

Brendon nods, pressing his forehead to Ryan's. Ryan smiles, loving how Brendon's skin feels against his own. He'll never get used to it. It'll always feel like a blessing. 

"Yeah," Brendon says, returning the grin and pressing it against Ryan's jaw. "I'm all right. Have a good day, sunshine. I love you."

Ryan catches Brendon's lips with his own, pulling Brendon's hand from the side of his face so he can hold it above the covers. He lets their hands fall on the warm, billowing sheets that envelop them. It feels like physical harmony. God, it feels like _love_.

"I love you, too," Ryan says, pressing kisses to Brendon's lips, nose, cheek, soft and slow. He'll always take his time for Brendon. "I love you so much. So much."

Brendon smiles shyly. Ryan gives him one more long kiss for him to ponder while Ryan's away, and Brendon begins to laugh.

"What?" Ryan asks. He can feel a smile begin to bloom across his own face out of some kind of reflex, out of some kind of intense, well-developed sympathy.

"Nothing," Brendon says, grinning lazily. He stares up at Ryan as he stands and looks around for clothes, watching him with admiration and love and a warm sensation in his ribs that feels like gratitude he's never experienced before. It's immense and too big for his heart. He feels like it could overwhelm him. He feels like he could cry from elation.

"Nothing at all."

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

“Fuck,” Ryan spat. “Fuck this entirely. Just fuck--”

His phone slipped from his hand. He froze.

“No!” he shouted. “No, fuck!”

Somewhere five storeys below him, it shattered.

Frustration melted into a thin, wiry panic, and desperately he ran back to his office computer and punched out a quick email to Brendon, hoping he’d receive it soon, hoping he would even check it at all.

After it sent, Ryan rested his head on his desk in defeat, sighing.

So much for a romantic evening.

  
  
  


Coming home early should have meant afternoon--4, at the very latest. A nice warm evening to curl up around their shoulders as they hit the town, maybe, or went for a walk around their neighborhood. Yeah, definitely should have meant afternoon.

Brendon had given up waiting in the living room. He retreated to their bedroom, where Dottie was now curled into his side. Checking his phone only increased his agitation because Ryan wasn’t responding to anything, and if Ryan wasn’t going to be home in time, how was he supposed to--?

The front door burst open and slammed closed. Dottie sprung awake and sprinted toward the door. Brendon wasn’t far behind, but less excited. Dense, dark moods had weighed him down.

“Hey, sorry I’m late,” Ryan said, toeing off his shoes, “but I got sucked into a last minute meeting, and I fucking shattered my phone, and then the car got a flat, and--”

Brendon blinked. “What?”

Ryan patted Dottie lovingly for a few moments before returning to Brendon. “I’m sorry I couldn’t get home earlier like I promised. I’ve just had the shittiest day.”

Brendon took a step closed to Ryan and pulled him in for a hug. Ryan wrapped his arms around Brendon’s waist, snapping the waistband of his boxers and stealing the resulting smile with a kiss.

“What did you want to do, anyway?” Ryan asked against Brendon’s cheek, kissing him softly.

Brendon smirked, kissing Ryan’s nose. “It can wait,” he said before picking up Dottie and holding her to Ryan’s face. Ryan grinned and played with her ears, and it made Brendon’s chest tight. 

_God_ , Brendon thought. _He is so beautiful._


End file.
